Winter Storage
Thread Starter
2nd Gear
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Winter Storage
I just purchased my first corvette, a C5. What an awsome car. A few have told me that I should start it a few times over the winter months or the electronics can become a little messed up. Any advice?
AKA "The CLOWN"
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 6,261
Likes: 13
From: Chicago South Suburbs
I just got home from dropping my car off at a friends heated barn for the winter about an hour ago. This is what I do.............
1. Fill car up with 93
2. Put trickle charger on
3. Put cover on
4. Close the garage door and walk away crying like a 6 year old school girl till mid April!
I've been doing it this way for 7 years, some guys get all goofy about " The proper way to store a car". I enjoy hearing all the wacko stuff that they do.
1. Fill car up with 93
2. Put trickle charger on
3. Put cover on
4. Close the garage door and walk away crying like a 6 year old school girl till mid April!
I've been doing it this way for 7 years, some guys get all goofy about " The proper way to store a car". I enjoy hearing all the wacko stuff that they do.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 746
Likes: 0
From: Michigan
I just got home from dropping my car off at a friends heated barn for the winter about an hour ago. This is what I do.............
1. Fill car up with 93
2. Put trickle charger on
3. Put cover on
4. Close the garage door and walk away crying like a 6 year old school girl till mid April!
I've been doing it this way for 7 years, some guys get all goofy about " The proper way to store a car". I enjoy hearing all the wacko stuff that they do.
1. Fill car up with 93
2. Put trickle charger on
3. Put cover on
4. Close the garage door and walk away crying like a 6 year old school girl till mid April!
I've been doing it this way for 7 years, some guys get all goofy about " The proper way to store a car". I enjoy hearing all the wacko stuff that they do.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,739
Likes: 1
From: Paris Illinois
CI 6-7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Put mine away about a week ago. Did the same but put in Stabil. I know it is not necessary but it makes me feel better. I also start it up and move it around a bit every few weeks. i.e. up and down the driveway to lubricate the seals. Did not do that in the past and had to replace a differential output shaft seal after only six years.
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 166
Likes: 1
From: Naples, FL -/- Oxford, England
FWIW - just got my baby out of seven months summer storage in FL.
I use a rented garage in a storage facility with no electric power, so I just add Stabil a few days before lay-up and once in the garage I disconnect the negative lead from the battery, put a Damprid bag in the cockpit and a cover over the car.
The battery has had enough juice to start each November, and the electronics seem totally unaffected - tires lose a couple of psi - computer remembers oil life and trip odometers and personal settings.
Cheers, Andy
I use a rented garage in a storage facility with no electric power, so I just add Stabil a few days before lay-up and once in the garage I disconnect the negative lead from the battery, put a Damprid bag in the cockpit and a cover over the car.
The battery has had enough juice to start each November, and the electronics seem totally unaffected - tires lose a couple of psi - computer remembers oil life and trip odometers and personal settings.
Cheers, Andy
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Joined: Mar 2001
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The electronics will not be harmed if you just let it sit. But in one of the files below, you can read what a GM engineer says about starting the car up every now and then when it is in storage.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,197
Likes: 190
From: ALL governments are legalized mobsters, so doesn't matter where I live :(
I just got home from dropping my car off at a friends heated barn for the winter about an hour ago. This is what I do.............
1. Fill car up with 93
2. Put trickle charger on
3. Put cover on
4. Close the garage door and walk away crying like a 6 year old school girl till mid April!
I've been doing it this way for 7 years, some guys get all goofy about " The proper way to store a car". I enjoy hearing all the wacko stuff that they do.
1. Fill car up with 93
2. Put trickle charger on
3. Put cover on
4. Close the garage door and walk away crying like a 6 year old school girl till mid April!
I've been doing it this way for 7 years, some guys get all goofy about " The proper way to store a car". I enjoy hearing all the wacko stuff that they do.
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Race Director
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 16,574
Likes: 13
From: Winfield IN
I'm a firm believer in "if you can't run it down the road, don't start it." Idling will not charge the battery as well as running the car will, not to mention you will just build up moister and condensation in the fluids and exhaust system, etc. that won't get burned off.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,369
Likes: 73
From: The line waiting to see Santa Claus stretched all the way back to Terre Haute, and I was at the end, Indiana
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18
Put the '64 up on the lift & winterized it about a month ago...
Put the wife's '01 in hibernation a couple of weeks ago...
My '99 will get put away this weekend...
My "Winter" procedures include:
1. Fill gas tank & check fluids.
2. Thoroughly wash & detail.
3. Coat of wax to keep cover from scratching.
4. Put on Battery Tender.
5. Cover.
6. Wait impatiently until earliest opportunity to start driving in Spring.
My garage has heat and is kept at 55 or higher, so the winter is mild for my little babies....
Put the wife's '01 in hibernation a couple of weeks ago...
My '99 will get put away this weekend...
My "Winter" procedures include:
1. Fill gas tank & check fluids.
2. Thoroughly wash & detail.
3. Coat of wax to keep cover from scratching.
4. Put on Battery Tender.
5. Cover.
6. Wait impatiently until earliest opportunity to start driving in Spring.
My garage has heat and is kept at 55 or higher, so the winter is mild for my little babies....
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 6,072
Likes: 196
From: Arizona
I do what most of the others prescribe here: Oil and filter change, fill tank, add Stabil as per directions, thoroughly clean inside and out, disconnect negative battery cable, cover and weep. Have had a Vette since 1992 and have never had a winter storage issue.